A FUNGUS identified in Africa could be the breakthrough needed to fight the aggressive navua sedge weed strangling pastures throughout North Queensland.
Biosecurity Queensland scientists have just returned from a trip to Eastern Africa where they assessed different sedge species that were susceptible to a certain type of fungus.
Biosecurity Queensland Principal Entomologist Dr Kunjithapatham Dhileepan said finding a natural enemy to the aggressive weed would be a significant benefit for Queensland’s agriculture industry.
Navua sedge is an extremely aggressive weed affecting the beef, dairy and sugarcane industries in Queensland’s wet tropics.
“More than 500 beef producers, dairy farmers, crop and hay producers in the Atherton Tableland region alone are affected by the weed,” Dr Dhileepan said.
“It grows in thickets and replaces palatable tropical pasture species.”
Dr Dhileepan looked at 36 sedge species at 75 different sites in Kenya and Tanzania, where they found a species of fungus that attacks navua sedge’s flower head and seeds.
“If further studies confirm that this fungus will only damage Navua sedge we’ll be seeking approval for its release in Australia.
“Future surveys are planned in West Africa to hopefully find even more useful pathogens.”
Dr Dhileepan said Biosecurity Queensland funded the African study in response to demand from industry for biological control agents for navua sedge.
“Current management options for navua sedge are mechanical and chemical, which are expensive and offer only provide short-term results,” he said.
“Biological control options are considered to be the most cost effective and long-term management option.”
The study was undertaken in partnership with research collaborators from the East African Herbarium, the National Herbarium of Tanzania and the University of Southern Queensland.